President Trump will soon sit down with one of the world’s most brutal and dangerous dictators. Neglecting that reality in the interest of getting some deal will likely perpetuate, rather than eliminate, the threat posed by Kim Jong-un to our friends and us.

President Trump has made clear that he seeks nothing less than the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of Kim’s regime. Yet, the pressure to settle for less, or at least to defer such an outcome to future negotiations, will be intense.

The only real hope for success, therefore, is to establish that the talks are grounded in reality. The Chinese are encouraging – and enabling – North Korea to remain intransigent and slow-roll Mr. Trump. So, the President must double-down by insisting that Kim Jong-un not only end his nuclear weapons program, but also the barbaric mistreatment of his own people.